[CAUT] hammer line

[Jim Busby]

Hi Chris,

Could you elaborate on "calibrating the strikeweight"? What I mean is, I understand the sorting of shanks, but what does that do to the SW curve? Do you alter the curve? (Put kind of a dip in it?)

Thanks.

Jim Busby



-----Original Message-----
From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Chris Solliday
Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2008 11:23 PM
To: College and University Technicians
Subject: Re: [CAUT] hammer line

Jim and Alan,
  You guys have probably thought of this but I thought I'd mention it anyway
because I haven't seen it as part of this thread.
Calibrating the strikeweight from at least note 52 up before assessing the
hammerline makes what you hear make more sense. I glue my line on straight
with a calibrated strike weight, after sorting shanks by weight, and then I
seem to have less need to vary the strikeline.
 I don't have any hard data from the way I used to do it before. I think the
real difference comes from the sorting of the shanks as they can vary a
whole gram or more. Calibrating strike weight without sorting the shanks
really makes alot of unnecessary work and can make for some funny looking
hammers in the treble section.
At least this is something to consider. My treble voicing issues have become
considerably reduced by doing it this way. I think that before I used this
procedure I was more inclined to funkify my line than currently, not that I
don't. Maybe I just feel like I get a better result overall. And maybe it's
actually less funkification. I wish I could prove it but I wasn't looking
for that particular improvement so I didn't do a good before and after.
Anyway there's 2 more cents.
Chris Solliday
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Busby" <jim_busby at byu.edu>
To: "College and University Technicians" <caut at ptg.org>
Sent: Monday, February 11, 2008 3:46 PM
Subject: Re: [CAUT] hammer line


> Alan,
>
> This looks like what Dale Erwin does to all Bs. Did you attend that class?
I've always been a bit afraid of making this kind of funkyfied hammer-line.
You're only the second person I've known crazy enough to actually do it! I
guess I'll try it now.
>
> Regards, Jim
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Alan
McCoy
> Sent: Monday, February 11, 2008 1:17 PM
> To: College and University Technicians <caut at ptg.org>
> Subject: [CAUT] FW: hammer line
>
> Hello folks,
>
> Thought I'd share this photo. I ruined a perfectly straight hammer line on
a
> 1898 S&S A. It was the most dramatic hammer line problem I have
encountered.
> I moved the top hammer of the first capo region about 3/16" toward the
capo,
> and the lowest hammer of the top capo region about 1/8" toward the capo.
For
> both areas I thought I'd taper the hammer line all the way to the other
end.
> But as it turned out I only needed to start the taper (according to my
ear)
> at the half-way point (G5 up to the break, and D7 down to the break).
>
> This area had always sounded funky and I was trying to find out why. I
> couldn't believe how much improvement this made.
>
> I know that these hammers and shanks were put on about 10 or 12 years ago,
> but I don't know if the originals were hung straight or not. I wonder when
> S&S figured out they needed to grind the capo out toward the bridge. There
> was plenty of room on the capo to just grind it, rather than have to
recast
> the whole capo bar.
>
> Alan
>
>
> -- Alan McCoy, RPT
> Eastern Washington University
> amccoy at mail.ewu.edu
> 509-359-4627
>
>